Nigeria gripped by massive Lassa Fever

Nigeria has been gripped by an outbreak of a deadly virus, since the beginning of the year 2018. Namely, Lassa fever is one of a number of illnesses which can cause dangerous epidemics. No vaccine has been found to cure the disease yet. Lassa Fever is not a newly introduced disease. But the outbreak is unprecedented, spreading faster and further than ever before. Health workers are overstretched, and a number of them have has become infected and died. The potentially fatal disease is a so-called “viral hemorrhagic fever”, which can affect many organs, and damage the body's blood vessels. Most people who catch Lassa will have only mild symptoms such as fever, headache, and general weakness. They may have none at all. However, in severe cases, it can mimic another deadly hemorrhagic fever, Ebola, causing bleeding through the nose, mouth and other parts of the body. About 1% of cases are thought to be fatal, but women who contract the disease late in pregnancy face an 80% chance of losing their child, or dying themselves.